10 Print Tips for Restaurant Trade Show Season
Restaurant trade show season is upon us, and with it comes many marketing opportunities. You have an opening to build brand awareness, network with potential clients, and ultimately make sales. However, these opportunities can be inhibited by poor trade show print materials.
Whether you are a new restaurant looking for business or a longstanding staple, you need to evaluate and optimize your trade show print setup. Follow our 10 print tips for trade show season to help your marketing stand out among the crowd.
Tip #1: Make Print Portfolios
As a restaurant, your primary material is obviously food. However, that doesn’t mean you have to serve a four-course meal in the middle of a trade show. You can showcase your work in other ways. One option is to create print portfolios.
These flipbook-like marketing materials give you the opportunity to showcase your favorite dishes without having to make them on-site. Attendees can sample what you did bring whilst they peruse the booklet of your other options. This may even spur some curiosity – do those lamb kabobs taste as good as they look in this picture? Customers will remember your visuals and look you up post-show.
Restaurant Trade Show Portfolio Best Practices:
- Ensure your portfolio features high-quality images
- Choose your food items that photograph the best
- Create more than one booklet, so multiple prospects can look at the same time
- Highlight slow-movers or new ideas to see reactions
Tip #2: Use a Presentation Board
Another option in addition to print portfolios are presentation boards. These larger-scale print items can grab attention from a distance. They also allow several prospects to see your items at the same time.
Restaurant Trade Show Presentation Board Tips:
- Consider using presentation boards in addition to other print items, like food portfolios
- Use high-quality images for your presentation boards; the images will be blown up, so poor resolutions can result in blurry boards
Tip #3: Color-Coordinate Your Display
Remember, your display is representing your brand. That means it should reflect your colors, fonts, and logos. Use these assets in a visually pleasing way to attract the most attention. Also be aware of font sizes; you don’t want to put up your display and find that attendees can’t read your board.
Tip #4: Bring Giveaways
You want the attendees who stop at your booth to walk away with something. Give these potential clients branded items such as shirts, stickers, sunglasses, or water bottles. When they return to their office or go home, they will have something to look at and remind them of your booth.
For restaurant trade shows, you should also consider giving food samples. After all, the stomach is the quickest way to the heart!
Restaurant Trade Show Giveaway Ideas:
- Food samples
- Branded materials like shirts, sunglasses, or water bottles
- Usable materials such as lanyards, chapsticks, or portable chargers
Tip #5: Hand Out Business Cards & Pamphlets
In addition to your giveaways, you’ll want materials that customers can use to find you after the show. Make sure you have plenty of business cards, brochures, and pamphlets printed and ready to hand out.
Tip #6: Take Advantage of Outdoor Space
At trade shows, you are not necessarily limited to just your table. Consider the space available outside the main floor, such as hallways, smaller rooms, and even outside the venue. These displays will let attendees know that you have a booth before they get to the main floors. Just remember to get approval from the trade show before putting displays anywhere
Tip #7: Put Up a Fabric Backdrop
Again, you are not limited to what fits on your table at trade shows. Utilizing the space behind your table with a fabric backdrop helps bring your whole display together. It will also help separate you from the other vendors around you.
Your fabric backdrop can be a plain color, a pattern, or even branded. Printing your logo or products on the backdrop brings another element of print to your booth.
Restaurant Trade Show Backdrop Tips:
- Consider all your options: solid color, patterned, or branded
- Ensure the backdrop stays on-brand (don’t mix other colors or fonts in)
- Prior to setting up your booth, steam or iron the backdrop to eliminate wrinkles
Tip #8: Consider a Portable Tent
Having a branded portable tent at your disposal will come in handy at any restaurant trade show you attend, especially if they have outside marketing options. They are easy to set up and tear down, and your logo can be printed on it so attendees will quickly recognize you.
Tip #9: Utilize Social Media
You don’t have to wait until after the trade show to introduce your digital image to your audience. Include your social media handles on all your trade show marketing materials to build your connections. Take it a step further and include QR codes on your print marketing materials to make your booth interactive.
Tip #10: Weigh Images Vs. Text
Even if you have amazing copy to display on your booth, written words may not translate well. They can be difficult to read, especially if the font is small or your audience is large. Instead, opt for high-quality images for your displays. These get the point across as well – if not better – than copy.
Dot It can provide you with all your print during restaurant trade show season. Dot It’s excellent print services will produce high-quality material for all your display needs. Contact us today to get started!